Smartphone Photography Tips: How to Take Better Pictures with Your Phone

Take a close look at your phones camera lens before snapping your photo. Chances are, it’s got a few smudges on it from being in your pocket, your purse, or your hand. When cleaning your lens, it’s best to use a soft cloth, such as these inexpensive microfiber cloths from Amazon.

There should be a “grid lines” option in your camera app settings. I always have my grid lines set to 3×3. This helps me square up my shot and it also lets me compose my photo using the rule of thirds.

Most of the time, I just take a photo on my phone using the Auto setting. However, every now and then, I’ll switch it over to manual or “pro” mode. In this setting, I’m able to take full control of my exposure and can manually set the shutter speed, the ISO, the focus, etc. This is especially helpful in low light situations. For example, if I’m in a dark restaurant, my camera will sense that there’s not enough light and it’ll increase the ISO way too much, causing my photo to look grainy. If I switch it over to manual mode, I can choose my settings and achieve a much better picture.

After taking your photo, consider importing it into a photo editing app where you can apply filters and quickly post-process your image. There are hundreds of editing apps out there so here are the four that I use the most.